Vanity
by Oppressed Madness
Summary: A cursed evoked by the wrath of an unknown deity causes the people of Crystal Country to disappear. Believed to be a descendant of the country's royal family with an extinct kekkei genkai, Naruto is brought to Crystal Country to help save the people.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto nor do I profit from this story in any way.

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

It was definitely the worst day in the history of Crystal Country. This day in particular offered no rivalry to the previous record holders. Instead, it completely over-shadowed them twice, maybe thrice. Surely the lost of a country's royal family which housed the unique kekkei genkai said country was named after can make the massacre of all genin living in that country or the mysterious epidemic that crippled so many shinobi and civilians alike look like a spring picnic. Not that mobility or the lives lost wasn't devastating, it's just that there weren't that many genin the year of the massacre; most kids were still at the academy, too young to be permitted by their parents to take the Genin Exam. Also, the people of Crystal Country were very innovative, the victims of the still mysterious epidemic all learnt to adjust and bounced back somehow.

So yes, the people of Crystal Country were in lame man's term, screwed. The royal family was the core, the livelihood of so many divisions of the country. All which prospered and gave the country recognition on an international scale. Kesshō, the name of the now extinct bloodline gave the members of the royal bloodline the ability to call on crystal and precious gems from both below and above the Earth's surface. Of course, calling rare stones was just a minute scratch on the surface of the abilities of the kekkei genkai. Actually, simplifying it to such an extent was a gross understatement and an insult to all those who wielded it. Once crystals or rare stones were called, their summoner was able to mould them, shaping them into any and everything they wanted. Shinobi possessing said bloodline even went further in perfecting it. As if being able to form a spare of diamond or a shield of amber at a mere whim wasn't impressive enough, shinobi of the royal family found a way to create lava bombs by summoning balls of diamond filled with lava from the Earth's mantle. Depending on the size of the bomb, explosions would simulate a volcano eruption, melting away earth and evaporating seas, searing flesh and burning houses along the way. Such a technique required vast amounts of chakra and impeccable control and mastery over both chakra and the kekkei genkai to an extent that most of the royal family were never able to attain. Still, the prestige alone, from knowing that it was possible sufficed.

It was common knowledge that many countries sorted after the kekkei genkai, some even resorted to kidnapping in attempt to get it but such means always failed. What kind of royal family would rise high class, reputable shinobi and not keep any for themselves? The guards of the royal family were the best of the best of Crystal Country. All, though mostly branch members, they all belonged to the royal family, wielding the powerful kekkei genkai. Other countries tried a more politically friendly, peaceful but obvious approach by making peace treaties or sending royals or dignitaries offering marriage proposals.

Apart from the many battling advantages that made the royal family practically bred to fight, the kekkei genkai was used for mining. Before the bloodline was discovered, Crystal country was known as Gravel Country, only about one eighth of its current size. The heart of Gravel Country, Jari, was small and fragile. Its citizens were sickly, poor and struggling, yet they were better off than their country counterpart. At that point of time, Gravel Country could have easily been taken over but none of its neighbours thought that to be a worthy cause. Oh how they all came to regret that.

After the neighbours of Gravel Country started noticing the new excessive trading of precious stones, they flocked to form peace treaties, hoping to attain the secret source in Gravel Country. It wasn't until centuries later, generations after the first user of Kesshō died and Gravel Country had merged with its neighbours had Kesshō been revealed. It was then the Koishi, the family identified wielding the bloodline, took over Gravel Country, renaming it Crystal Country and ascended into monarchy. The family reigned for four millenniums until today, ending in an uprising.

* * *

To say that six year old Ishito Koishi, Prince of Crystal Country was terrified would not necessarily be a lie but it would not exactly be the full truth either. He was that and confused. He was dreaming of red rain and blood curdling screams, drowned with a petrifying killer's intent. Then he dreamt of wanting to run but was glued to the spot, unable to do anything but allow the rain, which seemed to only fall on his pants crotch, wet him and run down his legs to the ground. Ishito stood there mentally whimpering until he finally forcefully parted his lips to their maximum and hauled in putrid air into his stone lungs. It was then Ishito felt two hands, one on either of his shoulders, shaking him as two voices, which sounded oddly familiar, called his name over and over and over. Ishito's eyes shot open. Instantaneously, Ishito recognized who the hands and voices belonged to.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Ishito cried as he threw himself forward into their arms.

"There, there. It's just a nightmare. Mommy's here now."

"Tell Daddy what monster scared you and he'll go beat him up!"

Ishito buried his head deeper into their shoulders (as both of his parents were sitting on his bed) which muffled his crying.

Ishito looked up into his parents' eyes. They were gazing down at him in worried but caring eyes. Reassuring him that everything was alright.

"I-I wet my bed." Ishito snuffled as he wiped away a stray tear.

"It's okay honey. How about I give you a warm bath and then you can spend the rest of the night with me and Daddy?"

Ishito gave a timid nod which signaled his father to hoist him up and carry him off for a warm bath.

A warm bath had really done the trick. Ishito was already nodding off back to sleep before he hit the water. By the time the bath was over he had already fallen asleep. His head was slumped against the wall of the bathtub and he had a smile on his face. He looked so peaceful, so serene that no one would have guessed that he wetted the bed from a nightmare just moments ago.

The next time Ishito opened his eyes he noticed a few things simultaneously. He noticed the fact that his parents were not in their bed. There were still a few hours to spare before dawn so they couldn't have gotten an early start. He also noticed the air he breathed. It was thick and asphyxiating with the scents of smoke and saline metal. Blood. He began experiencing déjà vu; it was his dream all over again.

Strangely there was no screaming, no sounds of terror or panic that would have alerted the young boy. This heightened Ishito's senses even more. He may have been only six but as the son of King Ishiri and Queen Jarika and heir to the throne of Crystal Country, not to mention the infamous and highly sorted after kekkei genkai, Kesshō, there were a lot of high expectation placed upon him. Many of them were satisfied earlier than expected when he unlocked his bloodline at age five, the youngest ever to do so. This prompted immediate training in his family jutsu. Even though he was only six months into his training, Ishito had proven himself worthy of being called a genius by his rapid progress. He could now match most of the mid-level genin in his village. He was a force to be reckoned with that caused many of his sparring partners to forfeit matches before they started or very early into the fight. His mother however, still saw him as a child and prevented him from enrolling in the academy. King Ishiri may have been strong but Queen Jarika held subtle control. She wanted Ishito to be a child as long as possible so no meant no. As a result, Ishito may have been capable of battling but he lacked experience and knowledge of the life of an actual ninja which was a drawback in his progress. A factor that now left the fate of his life in limbo.

Ishito stepped out his parents' bedroom. The guards at the door were sprawled out on the floor, out cold. He stooped to check their pulse. They were dead. Immediately Ishito began to panic. Outside, it was pouring and thundering hard and inside he was alone with two of the people who were suppose to be protecting him dead. Even worst, it was dark. Somehow the power had gone out which was odd. The jutsu that had made the lights was irreversible and had to wear out on its own for the lights to go out and all the lights weren't lit at the same time so there was no way the lights could have all gone out at the same time.

Ishito slammed his hands onto the crystal floor. All the buildings in Jari and most of Crystal Country were purposefully made with crystal to further aid the Koishi in battle. Their kekkei genkai not only allowed them to summon crystal but travel within them, merge and solidify into them to become one without any trace of their presence. Also it allowed them to sense the presence of others in any crystal building by having contact with the crystal with their bare flesh. Unfortunately, Ishito was not able to do the former at all and even though he was able to do the latter, he wasn't advanced enough to get a sense of the entire castle. His sensing capabilities only stretched to a radius of forty feet which allowed him to sense the four rooms in closest proximity to his current location. Everyone in all those rooms was dead and their bodies showed little to no trace of struggle or trauma. How could this have happened was the question that raced through Ishito's mind. As he raced forward near the centre of the castle, Ishito came across more dead body, all like the ones before, no sign of struggle or trauma. It was as if they all dropped dead.

Ishito slammed his hand onto the cold crystal one last time as he neared the end of the corridor that lead to the throne room of the castle. He mentally pleaded to find someone. Then, as if he had the luck of the gods on his side, he did. His parents were in the lobby, they appeared to be in battle stances but Ishito didn't sense anyone else in the room. But then again, Ishito's sensing capabilities didn't extend to the entire room. Elated to find prospective pleasant company of the living, Ishito rushed into the lobby only to discover why his parents were in battle stance. There were maybe anywhere between one hundred and fifty to one hundred people in the room. Ishito lost count due to the constant movement that was occurring. Boy was his sensing capabilities off. He was only a six year old Koishi and had started his training barely six months ago; sensory was a high level skill of Kesshō so inaccuracy was something to be expected. He may have been a genius but still, sometimes even geniuses can go only so far.

"Ishito!" his mother cried out, dodging a fireball spat at her. "What are you doing here?"

Queen Jarika's yelling had grabbed the attention of King Ishiri who was noticing that thanks to her lost of concentration she had let her guard down. A few of the enemies had banded together to take advantage of that opportunity to create a combined attack. A blast of a spiral composed of fire, water and lightening came hurling towards Queen Jarika who was still screaming for her petrified son to leave. King Ishiri quickly summoned a topaz wall which began melting a few seconds after the attack failed to relent. He fortified his wall with a second topaz wall which began to melt before the enemies' attacked died out.

King Ishiri, though still focused, was a bit puzzled. He and his family had actually been fighting for the past few hours. He was aware that his comrades had fallen. Initially he was alerted on a massive, unforeseen civilian uprising which he found strange since Crystal Country was extremely prosperous which allowed most, if not all civilians to live a relatively modest life the least. And it wasn't as if his subjects, ninjas, refugees and civilians alike were being mistreated or ignored in their generally minor plights. One of his first acts as King of Crystal Country was to commission an Action Committee who recorded all complaints by subjects and worked to correct slights a promptly and efficiently as possible. The last civilian survey had given government satisfaction a positive rating so why were civilians rioting? King Ishiri knew the current events were not random nor were they planned, at least not by the people outside rampaging in mass. No, the civilians were merely pawns, a distraction that diverted the Crystal Country's Ninja Force from being in the castle to fight.

The first thing that solidified King Ishiri's theory was the behaviour of his subjects. When he observed them from the castle's watch tower, he noticed their behaviour patterns were just off and catching the blank stare of a few of his subjects, he concluded they were all operating under genjutsu, ninja and civilian alike. The second clue was his dead armed forces. They were all of Koishi descent, wielding the bloodline Kesshō, making them the best of the elite. This didn't make them invincible, no, but it put them damn well nearer to it than most. To even be a commendable match for any Koishi, one would usually have to own a kekkei genkai themselves and had to have excellent mastery over it. And sometimes even that wasn't enough. However, Kesshō wasn't the only bloodline in Crystal Country but the others were rare and weak in comparison to Kesshō.

Even if there were ninjas who had acquired one of these bloodlines, there was no way they could have all banded together and over power the Royal Forces not to mention that King Ishiri did not see any of Crystal Country's other kekkei genkai while battling. That coupled with the fact that the enemy had used jutsu not native to Crystal Country told Ishiri that it was an outside attack. It had to be, there wasn't anywhere in Crystal Country that anyone besides a selected few could have hidden such a large number of people to train without notice to mount such a precise attack.

The next thing that threw King Ishiri off was the target, the point of this attack. It was no secret that Kesshō was sorted after but these ninjas attacking left no one in their path alive. If they were after Kesshō it would have been easy for them to snatch a Koishi child and escape already, plus they didn't seem to be phased by the fact that they couldn't locate the crowned prince despite actually being inside the room he was hidden in at some point of time. The prince was protected in his parents' bedroom. King Ishiri had used a concealment jutsu on the bed Ishito slept in. He had not expected his son to be awake for hours. Ishito was safe in the room, more specifically the bed which King Ishiri wished his son stayed in.

"Ishito! You have to run now!" King Ishiri fell to his knees. The battle was really starting to wear him down.

Ishito glanced backwards and forwards between his parents and the attacking ninjas. One of the attacking ninja started to approach Ishito with a smirk. Queen Jarika and King Ishiri both shouted their son's name simultaneously as they attempted to rush towards him but their efforts were blocked by the remaining ninjas who were still hurling various elemental jutsu at them.

Ishito was sitting on the ground with his legs under him. They had just collapsed under him. He was pleading mentally with his body to move. He pleaded louder as the ninja got closer to him. His plights became verbal.

"Move! Move body! Move! Please move!" he groaned, looking down at his knees.

The enemy ninja was now towering over Ishito with a sword pointed at Ishito's head. Ishito closed his eye, readying himself to accept his fate but secretly wishing he could have somehow melted away from the battle or vaporize into the atmosphere. Ishito whimpered but quickly realized he was in no pain. He looked up and saw the ninja with the sword, it was touching the ground but he was in no pain. Then it hit Ishito, he had finally learnt to merge with the crystal, it was the only explanation to the confused look on the ninja's face and why he was alive with such an awkward perspective.

"Ishito! I know you can hear me! I'm proud of you son!" King Ishiri was now bleeding in various places. His fatigue had caused him to miss some of his counterattacks which caused him damage.

"Me too baby!" His mother smiled faintly, she was bleeding as well, worn down with the same fatigue.

"Now son, you have to run! Don't worry about your mother and me! You have to survive! You have to run so Crystal Country can have a king!"

"Listen to your father Ishito!"

Normally once a Koishi got into crystal, they were untraceable except by other Koishi but his mother had taken a blood oath that bonded her to his father spiritually which gave her the ability to sense Koishi in crystals. This allowed her to know that Ishito was still in the lobby.

Ishito watched from the crystal as another of the enemy ninja's combined attack blanketed his parents. His father summoned a glass shield but it quickly melted away. His parents were too weak to fight. The attack killed them.

"No!" Ishito cried out, which alerted his position to the enemy ninja but they couldn't destroy the crystal floor so they couldn't do anything to him.

Ishito floated through the crystal to his parents' body and pulled them in. His father was Koishi and his mother had blood bonded to his father which allowed her to move threw crystal with aid of a Koishi. He pulled their bodies through the crystal walls of the castle and the crystal bricks of the streets outside. Then he stopped in front the gates of the royal gardens and surfaced with is parents. He still couldn't believe they were dead. The garden was peaceful and empty. Ishito cried silently as he mourned his parents. He didn't want to alert the enemy ninjas inside that castle that he was nearby.

Time movement became so fickled. Ishito had spent hours sitting with his dead parents (he knew this because he saw the sun was beginning to rise) but it felt like only seconds had passed. He wasn't ready to leave his parents but he knew he had to go now. He couldn't stay in Crystal Country. Everyone knew who he was and how he looked. If the ninjas who attacked his family got word that he was still alive they would come after him. Ishito carried his parents to the apple tree that they often picnicked or read to him under. He summoned two crystal coffins and placed his parents in them then he sent them back underground. He summoned two emerald (emerald with his mother's favourite gem which made it his father's favourite gem) tombstones with their names and a short message engraved on them.

_Thank you for loving me and being my parents. I WILL avenge you and I WILL make you proud. Ishito._

Ishito kissed both of his parents' tombstones.

"Good bye Mommy. Good bye Daddy." he said solemnly. The he turned and walked away.

* * *

Somewhere in the Realm of Gods and Demons a goddess named Kiki was watching the all this. She was furious. She was the one who had granted the Koishi family with the kekkei genkai they possessed in honour of her fallen son Akira. Now mortals had vanquished them. It pained her heart to watch Ishito. Someone would have to pay for that.

Unlike King Ishiri, she knew who was responsible for the attack. It was a set up by various council members of Crystal Country, an alliance formed with many missing nins from various countries including Crystal Country. A coup d'état planned because the daughter of one dignitary thought she was more worthy than Queen Jarika to sit on the throne of Crystal Country.

Kiki looked down at her. She was smiling in her sleep. The devious bitch knew watch she had done. She thought herself beautiful. She was vain and the council that should have been advising, protecting, assisting the king betrayed them for her and encouraged her vanity.

"Vanity they wanted. Vanity will get!" Goddess Kiki smiled. She had plans for this Crystal Country which she no longer blessed.

* * *

**Two years later in Wave Country**

"Hey kid! You alive?"

A man with heavy hands was shaking a small boy. He had brown hair and he looked very frail. The boy groan and he pushed his self into the upright position and attempted to stand up.

"You look so forlorn," the man said. "Children shouldn't be looking like you."

The man helped the child up.

"What's your name?"

_Ishito Koishi._ The brown hair boy thought, but he couldn't reveal his lineage so he made up a lie. He had died his blond hair brown and grew it out just to hide it and make himself even more unrecognizable.

"Hikaru," he said faintly.

"You have parents and a last name Hikaru?"

Ishito's eyes began to water as he thought about that night. He shook his head.

"No. They died a long time ago."

"An orphan, eh?" the man smiled. "How would you like to come with me and have a meal and maybe live with me?"

Ishito strugged.

"My wife and I have always wanted a son but we never got one, only daughters, four of them to be exact. Now her body's had enough so she won't be getting any more children but we still want that son. I'm pretty sure she'll be glad to have you."

Ishito looked into the man's eyes with his azure eyes. They were typical of his family and stood out in Crystal Country but in Wave Country it made him blend in. The man was smiling, he seemed honest enough. Ishito decided to trust him and if it didn't work it would run away. Even use his kekkei genkai to escape if necessary.

"So would you like to come home with me little boy?"

Ishito nodded and the man hoisted him up and walked away with him.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Ishi- stone

Jari- gravel

Kesshō - crystal

Some of the ideas for the kekkei genkai in this story was inspired by another fanfic which I really enjoyed; The Melt by pudgypudge.


	2. Truth

**Chapter 1: Truth **

Tsunade's nose twitched. Even though she pretended to, she couldn't ignore the pungent odour that was emitting from the woman seated across the desk from her. The woman had short ragged hair clumped together with mud and dirt that made it stick up in all sorts of odd angles. Her eyes were mud brown to match her hair and her face was smeared with sludge. The woman looked as if she had never showered a day in her life. Each detail added up to make her look feral, however, it was still obvious that she was young, maybe about twenty-two.

"I'm sorry if my odour offends you, Lady Hokage."

The woman in front of her bowed before staring into Tsunade's eyes. She seemed unaffected by her odour but from her previous statement it was clear that she was aware of it.

"I am aware of your situation, Princess, so I take no offence. I know it is not your fault but if it does not offend you, I would like to have your permission to open the windows."

"No offence taken, Lady Tsunade. Even I am aware of my stench even though I pretended not to be. I understand reactions others give so I allow it. You understand why I must. I was chosen by my people to take the role I play and the consequences of my vanity and pride are far too great for me and my people to bear."

Tsunade nodded before rising to open the windows of her office. She acknowledged the chance of a gust of wind blowing through her office that would scatter her paperwork thus doubling the amount of work she had to do, but she decided that if opening the window would reduce the lingering, it was worth it.

"So Princess Rina Moto of Crystal Country," said Tsunade casually. "What brings you here?"

"The necklace," The princess responded flatly. "It belongs to the royal family of Crystal Country. It went missing over a hundred years ago, but a few decades back we traced it back to Konoha in the hands of the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Since then we've been trying to retrieve the necklace but all attempts have failed. Then for a period of time, the whereabouts of the necklace were unknown. The people of Crystal Country feared it had been destroyed, until information from our spy network reported to have seen you wearing the necklace, Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju, Godaime of Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaf. I, Princess Rina Moto of Crystal Country, request that you return that which rightfully belongs to my country and people."

Tsunade sat in silence, listening to all the princess had to say. Her voice was calm and emotionless but firm.

"Princess Rina Moto of Crystal Country, I am afraid I have to decline your request on the grounds that I am no longer in possession of the item you seek."

"What!" The princess rose from her seat in fury as she slammed her hands on the desk. "You lost it?"

"I did not lose the necklace. How could I? It was one of my grandfather's most prized possessions." said Tsunade, taken aback. Then she added nonchalantly, "I gave it away to someone I thought deserving."

"How could you? It was not yours to give to anyone!" The princess was shaking as she glared at Tsunade. "Have you any idea of the grief you have now dealt to my people? Have we not suffered enough already?"

"By all means, I inherited it, making it mine to give to whomever I please. And furthermore, I was not aware of your country's situation until recently."

Suddenly there was a bang as Tsunade turned her head to see her door kicked down.

"Baa-chan, I'm back!"

Tsunade's eye twitched slightly as she heard her pet name being called. She knew it could only be the blond idiot, Naruto. She loved the boy but sometimes she just wanted to strangle him. Still, she was grateful for his intrusion. She did not want to continue the conversation she was having with the princess.

Naruto sniffed the air.

"Man, it reeks in here! Baa-chan, have you been pulling all-nighters with sake binges again?"

"I do not stink when I pull all-nighters and drink sake you brat," shouted Tsunade.

Then Naruto realized that there was another person in the room.

"I'm sorry about the stench, young shinobi. I am the one you smell."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shinzune gasped as she appeared in the doorway along with Kakashi and Sakura who were returning from a minor mission with Naruto. "I'm sorry for the interruption. I tried to block him, and I told him you were busy."

Tsunade smiled.

"It's okay. Actually, I'm glad he appeared, since this matter now concerns him."

The other occupants of the room all looked at Tsunade quizzically.

"Princess Rina this is Naruto Uzumaki, the person who possesses the necklace you seek."

Naruto eyed the brunette who was now standing in front of him.

"You can't be a princess! Where are you from? Land of the Swamps?" Naruto burst out as he pinched his nose.

Both Sakura and Tsunade punched Naruto in the head.

"Mind your manners you idiots!" They both shouted in unison.

"Sorry Baa-cha, Sakura-chan."

Rina chuckled a little at the display. This Naruto was certainly an interesting one. She eyed him from head to toe, noting his most predominant features: his blonde hair and blue eyes. From what she'd seen as she travelled through the village, they were not something common to Konoha. Yes, there were other blonde-haired people and other blue-eyed people, but the shades Naruto possessed were very rare to Konoha. They reminded her of the ones that once populated her homeland, Crystal Country.

"Naruto, is it?"

Naruto nodded to confirm.

"I am Princess Rina of Crystal Country and I seek that necklace around your neck. Will you give it to me?"

"No!" Naruto interjected in outrage. "Tsunade baa-chan gave it to me as symbol of her belief in me to become Hokage someday!"

"Hokage? Then you must be strong."

"Damn right I am!"

Rina stomped her foot. The vibration was felt by everyone in the room as cracks ran up the walls of the Hokage office.

"I am strong too. How about we fight, Naruto? If I win you give me the necklace."

"If you lose?" Naruto asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'll give you anything you want."

"How about you take a bath?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled warningly.

"It's okay Hokage-sama. I accept."

"Fine! But fight outside my office!"

"Shizune," Naruto said promptly, never letting his eyes leave the princess. "Can you make arrangements for the princess at the bathhouse? And Kakashi, can you referee?"

"I'll referee," Tsunade interrupted.

"And I'll contact the bathhouse," said Shizune.

Princess Rina and Naruto glared at each other all the way to the training grounds. Kakashi signed at the inconvenience as Sakura occasionally scowled at Naruto, but all her ranting fell on deaf ears.

When they got to the training ground, Rina and Naruto both took positions with either on opposite sides of the training field.

"Alright, you two! I want this fight to be clean and fair."

Naruto snickered, but Tsunade sent a deathly glare that stopped him immediately.

"Fight ends when one party is unable to fight or surrenders. All ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu are allowed but not fatal blows. Agree?"

Rina and Naruto nodded.

"Okay then, begin!" Tsunade leaped out of the way.

Rina did not hesitate to start the match.

"Earth Style: Stone Cage," she yelled.

Columns of stone began to rise around Naruto and Rina, forming a square parameter. They grew to about thirty feet before bending inwards to grow towards each other, meeting in the centre. Then the stone columns began sprouting multiple stone arms which interlocked with each other to form a cross-hatch cage. The princess chuckled.

"Are you ready for this, future Hokage?"

The princess closed her eyes and began to focus. Rocks began to float upwards to attach to her arm. Soon, her arms were completely covered with rocks that formed sword-like extensions of her body. The princess rushed forward towards Naruto, swinging her arms in attempt to stab him. Naruto jumped backwards, evading all her attacks.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as two clones poofed onto the battlefield.

The clones began to mould the chakra emitting from Naruto's hand.

"Double Rasengan!"

Naruto thrust forward, aiming his attacks at the princess.

"Earth Concealment!"

The princess' body quickly sank into the ground. Naruto, unable to stop his attack ran straight into the wall of the stone cage. On contact the stone cage began to glow before turning to dust and crumbling. The princess, who was now back above ground behind Naruto, was now staring at him in awe and a bit of suspicion.

"You got rid of my cage Naruto but don't think this means anything."

Naruto turned to see the princess charging towards him again. He pulled out a kunai to counter one of her sword hands. On contact to the princess' sword arms, Naruto's kunai began to glow as it cut through the princess' sword.

Once again, Naruto had the princess stomped in awe. She gazed at Naruto's eyes which were shining with determination. In them, she spotted a reflection of a green glow. The princess looked down to Naruto's neck, the source of the glowing. The crystal around Naruto's neck was glowing. The princess stepped back and fell on one knee into a bow.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I had to be sure that my suspicion were correct."

_What?_ Sakura raised her eyebrow as she stared at Naruto and Rina.

_Did she say what I thought she said?_ Tsunade buried her face into her hands, this was going to take some time to explain.

Kakashi signed mentally, though he was genuinely intrigued. Shizune glanced between Naruto and Rina on the battlefield and Tsunade who was now rolling her eyes as she ran mental scenarios of how the rest of her day was about to play out.

Naruto remained speechless as she gazed at the princess. He wondered if he was hearing right but guessing from the reactions of everyone around him, apparently he was.

"W-w-what did you just say?" Naruto stammered.

"I asked for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."

"I got that but Your Majesty? Me?"

The princess rose.

"Yes. It is quite obvious since you look like him, minus the whiskers of course."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto shouted at the princess.

The princess didn't flinch.

"Please allow me to explain." She responded calmly.

Naruto and the others returned to the Hokage's office to await the princess' explanation. Everyone pulled out a seat, not wanting to have any distractions during this matter.

The princess relayed the story of Crystal Country and how it came to be. She told them about the royal family, Koichi and the kekkei genkai they possessed that allowed them to rise to the top and rule Crystal Country. Then she told them about the massacre of the Koichi family in an attempted coup d'état and how ever since that day Crystal Country had been cursed.

"So," said Sakura, breaking the silence, "Who is this him you were referring to earlier?"

"King Ishiri Koichi. Naruto looks just like him, albeit the whiskers and eye shape but there's no mistaking it. His hair colour and eye colour are the same as the Koichi family of Crystal Country. Though they are dead now, Crystal Country still remembers them and their eyes and hair were their most recognizable traits, unique to only them. Also, as I travelled through Konoha, I haven't seen anyone with similar traits at all. Sure there are blondes and there are blue eyed people, maybe even a combination but none are like him."

"So what you are saying is Naruto could be related to this king?" Kakashi asked.

"Not could be. He is!"

"And how are you certain of this?" Tsunade interjected.

"Well minus the features Naruto exhibits, the next thing is the necklace. It glowed. That necklace has always belonged to the Koichi family. It was said that it once belonged to the first user of Kesshō and always glowed once it was around his neck. It is said that the first user of Kesshō was a very vibrant and happy man who could change the hearts of anyone one. They believe he came from poor background, like most people of the then Gravel Country but he was always smiling and never let anything keep him dismay. They called the trait 'The Spirit'. The Koichi family believed that the crystal necklace would glow once in the hands of any of their members who possessed it but it never did. Still, they kept it hoping that one day it would."

"Well. If Naruto is related to this Koichi family then he definitely possesses this 'Spirit'. I myself have been on the receiving end of it. After all, he was the one that convinced me to take the role as Hokage."

"There are a couple of problems with this," said Naruto. "Not that I wouldn't like to be a prince or anything but before now the necklace never glowed around my neck and I've had it in my possession for more than three years now. The second thing is I've never shown any signs of this kekkei genkai, Kesshō."

"How old are you Naruto?"

"I'm sixteen."

The princess paused for a moment to contemplate before continuing.

"Well, I'm not sure on either of those things. I may be Princess of Crystal Country but I am not of Koichi blood. I was chosen by my people to rule. However, I do believe that you are of Koichi blood, Naruto, regardless of whether or not you possess Kesshō and the people of Crystal Country would more than welcome you, even if just for a visit."

Everyone stared at Naruto, all wearing a slight frown except for the princess. The princess had basically just offered Naruto a place in her country where he would be revered and treated with utmost loyalty and respect, unlike how he is treated in Konoha. On top of that he may even have a chance to rule.

His dream was to become Hokage so he could be recognized. And now, a chance of the same dream, just in a different place, was just offered to him. If Naruto left to rule Crystal Country, he could be put in charge of a whole army that could strike against Konoha in retaliation of the way he was treated all these years he has live in Konoha; not that Tsunade would blame him if he did. Also, Konoha would be losing more than just a jinchuuriki but also the only living legacy of the Fourth Hokage as well a possible a unique bloodline trait that had been lost to the world for over one century.

Speaking of the Fourth, Naruto didn't even know he was his father. Naruto couldn't leave Konoha without learning that but if he were to and then leave Konoha, it might give him even more reason to strike against Konoha.

"I'm sorry Princess Rina, but I can't come with you. My place is here in Konoha and if I leave I may never become Hokage."

"Yes Naruto, but if you leave you may become more. You may become king!"

Naruto shook his head.

"I'm sorry princess, but I just can't leave."

"I understand," the princess conceded solemnly, "but at least pay us a visit. My country and my people have been struggling for years, and I believe you may be able to help us."

"Help you? How? What can I do?"

"You can do a lot, Naruto. You are our last hope."

"What are you talking about? Naruto? Your last hope?" Sakura's voice was filled with disbelief. In the past Naruto had brought hope to many people. He had even changed Neji but still, she couldn't fathom how Naruto could help a whole country.

"You mentioned a curse earlier, what was that all about?" Kakashi asked, finally speaking up. Things were just getting too exciting for him to remain quiet.

"The curse, we call it Vanity. It appeared the very next day after the massacre of the Koichi family."

"Speaking of which," interrupted Shizune, "if all the Koichi were killed, then how could Naruto be a lost heir?"

"I'll get to that after I explain the curse. The attempt to overthrow the Koichi family was said to happen because the daughter of one dignitary of Crystal Country, Lady Michiko Shito, thought she was more deserving to be queen than the wife of King Ishiri, Queen Jarika. Lady Michiko was very beautiful but very vain. She was the betrothed of the king before he found his wife, who he had met on the battlefield. She had been the only person who could land a blow to the king, and he had instantly fallen in love with her. The story goes that initially she only plotted the assassination attempt on the Queen but other dignitaries found out of the assassination attempt. The Koichi family ruled for millenniums and gained many enemies. The dignitaries that heard of the assassination attempt thought it was their chance to finally dethrone the Koichi family. The dignitaries of Crystal Country plotted with outside officials and gathered an army of missing nins. One night, the missing nins attacked the royal family and killed them all. It is still not known how they did it. The Koichi family always kept their guards from their own bloodline and all were elite ninjas. The next morning Crystal Country woke to the awful news of the massacre. That first day, one person went unexplainably missing. The person was Lady Michiko. Since then, one person went missing everyday. Then more people started disappearing more frequently, none leaving any traces behind. It was all hopeless. People started disappearing and none one looked for them because there would be no clues to find them. Then one day one of Crystal Country's best investigators figured out a clue. The personalities of all missing people were all the same. They were all, to some extent, vain. Almost all the reports held one reoccurring detail. All the victims became obsessed with their looks nearing their disappearances."

Sakura unconsciously swiped her hand through her hair as she flashbacked on her obsession with her looks when she was a genin. The princess noticed but didn't comment.

"This created more speculation in the investigation. One mother became so afraid for her daughter after seeing the same obsessed behaviour in her that she contacted the security force. Investigators observed the daughter's behaviour and followed her everywhere. They noted things like the daughter couldn't resist looking at her reflection and got agitated when her appearance was out of line. Then one day when the investigators were tailing her it happened. A strange glow surrounded the girl and a transparent girl that looked exactly like her appeared. The transparent twin pulled her real twin into the crystal wall of the nearby building and the girl vanished. One mystery was solved but another began. To this day no one knows where the people went. The only thing we know is that it starts out with vanity. Most of the buildings of Crystal Country are all made of crystal, built by the first members of the Koichi family. The crystals can't be chipped, melted or moved so they stand throughout time. The crystal also seems to possess people, amplifying vanity, fuelling the curse. To counteract the curse many people in Crystal Country stopped caring about their looks. They stopped combing their hair and buying stylish clothes, and some even stopped bathing. That is the first part of the curse. The second part of the curse came about when whatever god or goddess that cursed us saw how we countered their curse. The Koichi family was chosen to rule by divine rights and they were killed by mortals so as punishment, anyone who sits on the throne of Crystal Country will be tempted not just with vanity but with power. The obsession with power and looks would cause the ruler to mistreat their subjects which would eventually drive the country to the ground. Crystal Country has survived a few tyrannical dictators created by the curse but we really cannot afford to have anymore rulers fall to temptation. I was chosen to be the princess because my family was always wealthy and we had ties to the Koichi family. The people of Crystal Country believe that their future king or queen must be benevolent at heart and completely humbled. Despite being rich and of a high social class, when I was young I always loved playing in the mud and I was a bit of a tomboy, still am. I'm also one of the few earth element users in Crystal Country. As training to rule, I was raised not to care about how I look and always smile and be considerate of others. I guess you can say I raised somewhat a slave because that is what a king or queen of Crystal Country is; a slave to their people. I am aware of what outside views are but I was chosen to play the role I play and so I cannot afford to let my people down."

"Princess Rina," Naruto smiled. "I now understand and I admire you. A Hokage is suppose to serve and protect his people so in a way, you are like a Hokage. I want to be the future Hokage of Konoha, I want to protect the people here because they are precious to me. That is why I want to stay here. Hokages are seen as one of the strongest ninjas in the world and the strong should always protect the weak. I want to help you and your people but I'm not sure how I can. I don't understand the role I play."

"Like I said before Naruto, I do believe that you are the lost heir of Kesshō. The next day after the massacre of the Koichi all bodies but three were recovered. The first two missing bodies were that of King Ishiri and Queen Jarika, the third was that of Prince Ishito. The bodies of the king and queen were found in the family's private garden. The king's and queen's body were encased in a crystal coffin and buried underground with emerald tombstones as their grave markers. The tombstones held a message left by their son. It said: _Thank you for loving me and being my parents. I __WILL__ avenge you and I __WILL__ make you proud. Ishito. _From this we deduced that Prince Ishito had to be alive and either escaped or was kidnapped. The crystal necklace was gone too. No one knew what exactly happened to Prince Ishito, but once there were rumours that a man wielding the necklace and looked like a grown version of him was spotted in Wave Country. This inspired a man hunt consisting of not only Crystal Country ninjas who wanted him back but ninjas of other lands who wanted him dead. Rumours of a wide variety were circulated all through the hunt. Some said that this mysterious man married a woman from Wave Country and had a child together. Some said that the mysterious man was found by hunter nin who killed him. I believe the first rumour, especially after meeting you Naruto Uzumaki. I'm not sure how but somehow, at least fifty years after the mysterious man would have been dead from old age, the necklace fell into the hands of the Shodaime Hokage."

Shizune looked up at princess who had stopped to take a drink of water. No one spoke, no one moved.

"You know, come to think of it, my grandfather did mention that the necklace was given to him after he saved a child from Wave Country during one of his travels. I'm not sure but I think the child had blond hair and blue eyes too. His family had just been attacked and killed for the necklace and he didn't want it any more." Tsunade took a sip of her sake. "My grandfather said lots of things to me when he gave the necklace to me. He also mentioned that he was able to perform Mokuton jutsus after he came into possession of the necklace."

The princess's eyes widened.

"It could be possible. The Koichi family believed lots of things about the necklace and many of them were earth element users so they didn't have control over just crystals. Mokuton uses jutsus that are somewhat earth based. It is possible that the crystal gave him that power. As to why it didn't work for you or Naruto, I'm not sure. I really can't explain that. Naruto, the Koichi family believed that they were granted their kekkei genkai from a divine power. I believe you are of Koichi and if you come to Crystal Country maybe you can speak to this divine entity and get them to revoke their curse. That is how you can help. You don't have to stay, just visit."

"If it's a god or goddess that is causing the curse then why can't you just pray to them and ask them to stop?" Kakashi asked.

"We've tried but we don't know the name of this specific god or goddess. Many priest and priestesses have tried to find out but all failed. We've done several sacrifices as well but I guess the heavens are just mad at us."

"And if none of your experts can find this god or goddess then what makes you think I'll be able to find them?"

"In the castle, there are rooms that only opens to Koichi. No one knows what exactly are in those rooms but rumours have it that the Koichi had a separate temple, a shrine to the being that granted them their kekkei genkai. Rumours also state that they had personal libraries that contained the history of their lineage with information unknown to the public in these private rooms. As a descendant of Koichi, Naruto, you will be able to access these rooms and gain information that could help the people of Crystal Country and rid us of the curse that has been plaguing us for over a century!"

"I can't pretend I'm not curious, princess, especially hearing all that you've said today," said Naruto. "I've decided that I will visit Crystal Country and help however I can. That is, if Tsunade baa-chan would let me."

"I too am curious, so I will grant you permission."

"I can't pretend I'm not curious either, so I'll go too," said Kakashi.

"And if Naruto and Kakashi go, then I'll have to go to! I can't be left out of all the fun!" Sakura smiled.

"Lady Tsunade, they all jus got back from a mission, and Naruto especially has barely been back from his trip with Jiraiya, do you really think it's wise to let them go?" Shizune asked.

"This could be Naruto's one chance to find out something about himself that no one in Konoha could teach him. I have to let him go," said Tsunade. "I'll allow Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi to go to Crystal Country as an escort to Princess Rina. After all she is our guest and we can't just leave her on her own."

Princess Rina smiled.

"Since I lost our battle Naruto, I guess I'll take that bath you wanted me to."

"Sure princess, it's at the hot springs so you'll enjoy it."


	3. Homecoming

Homecoming

After spending a few days in Konoha, Princess Rina departed along with a hyped Team Seven. The journey back to Crystal Country took them three days; two days land travelling and one day sea travelling. So far, the journey was going completely smooth. No other ninjas or adversaries were met along the way and Princess Rina and Team Seven were now sailing towards Crystal Country. They would be in Jari, the capital of Crystal Country by noon the next day if things went according to plan.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Princess Rina asked Naruto as she approached him. It was nightfall and the sky was clear so the stars were visible. Naruto had snuck out to the deck of the ship while everyone was sleeping. He had always enjoyed stargazing even thought it was sort of bittersweet to him.

"Yeah, they are," said Naruto impassively. "I spent a lot of sleepless nights gazing at them when I was younger. And when it wasn't that, I was simply staring into nothing, waiting to fall asleep."

"Me too, I used to think about becoming a princess. I was chosen for the role when I was ten. I knew about it for eight years before I assumed the role. At first I didn't want to accept it. I was terrified of letting my people down. I thought about all the time. About the past rulers that gave into the curse. I was afraid that the same thing would happen to me so I didn't want to give myself a chance for it to happen."

"I thought about the villagers." Naruto wasn't even thinking when he said that. "Wherever I went, people stared at me with these eyes… all of them just filled with anger and hate."

"Naruto…," Princess Rina whispered.

"I tried to figure out why. Even resorted to personally asking them but I never got any answers." Naruto smiled. "Pulled a few pranks here and there. My cry for getting attention I suppose. But nothing ever serious enough to hurt them."

Princess Rina hugged Naruto from behind. "I'm sorry Naruto… for all you've been through." The moment was starting to get intense and she suddenly felt the need to comfort him and be there for him.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. It's one thing to not be liked, happens to all of us at some point, you know? But it's another when you're hated by everyone, worse when you don't know why."

Naruto placed his hands on Princess Rina's hands that wrapped around him.

"Surprisingly, when I found out why I was hated, I didn't hate the villagers. I suddenly understood why they acted the way they did. It didn't mean they were right, but I understood them. Suddenly, I didn't want to be the Hokage for just respect. I wanted to prove to them that they were wrong and that they could trust me. I wanted to show them that I wasn't who they thought I was."

Princess Rina nuzzled her face into Naruto's shoulder, hoping her closeness could bring some comfort to him while at the same time, taking in his scent. It was intoxicating but simple. He smelt like freshly fallen leaves with a tinge of spiciness to it.

"Later on, as I grew stronger, fought more battles, I stopped thinking so much about the respect and proving myself and more about–"

"Protecting everyone," they both said in unison.

"Yeah," said Naruto.

Naruto turned and faced Rina.

"I started feeling that way too. Thanks for agreeing to come here Naruto," said Princess Rina, "I'm sure my people will welcome you and your team openly."

"No problem Princess."

"Please, call me Rina."

"Sure, Rina."

Naruto and Princess Rina spent the rest of the night talking about their past and their dreams. It was the first conversation they've ever had alone since they met each other in Konoha a few days ago. Princess Rina was really cool, Naruto thought. He found out that they held similar views in leading their homelands and just people in general. The more he talked to her, the more his admiration for her grew.

"So… Naruto, there's a few things you need to know about when I present you to the people," said Rina.

* * *

Eita squinted, he was using his hand to shade his eyes but to no avail. It was still too bright to see a suitable distance. Eita and his twin brother, Eiri, along with many of the citizens of Crystal Country had been standing guard at Royal Ports in Jari for a few hours now, waiting for the arrival of Princess Rina and her ninja escort. The citizens, well, almost all of them, were dressed in rags or simple clothing. Their faces and hair, dirty, like that of Princess Rina when she first arrived in Konoha. The citizens were very anxious to see their princess. She had set out to Konoha in the Fire Country about two weeks ago in hopes of attaining a crystal necklace that once belonged to the Koishi family. The people of Crystal Country hoped that the return of the necklace could alleviate the curse some unknown deity placed on them. Then one week after Princess Rina left, Eita, one of Princess Rina's younger twin brothers received news that the necklace was indeed in Konoha and that Princess Rina would be returning home along with ninja escort. She did not specify as to whether or not the necklace was acquired so the people of Crystal Country couldn't help but to feel nervous at this homecoming.

"Is that?" said Eita. He had spotted a silhouette.

"It is!" his twin brother exclaimed.

The people of Jari started cheering. At last, after more than a century of suffering, they finally had hope of a chance of being at peace.

"Rina! Rina!" the twins called. They ran up to their sister as she exited the boat and embraced her.

Princess Rina fell on one knee and hugged them and she buried her face in their hair.

"We've missed you Rina," said Eiri. His face was smeared and his hair and clothes were matted with mud (which was now also on Princess Rina's face), so was his twin brother.

"You guys are filthier than usual, another mud fight?"

"Yes! It was fun!" Eiri gave a short laugh before frowning. "Too bad you couldn't be there."

"Yeah," Princess Rina sighed, "too bad."

Eita smiled. "I see you've had a bath sis. That's means I won!"

"You were only lucky! I'll win next time!"

Princess Rina and her brothers often competed to see who could stay filthy the longest. The winner got to waited on hand and foot by the losers. Of all the other competitions they've had in the pass, Princess Rina had only won one, usually Eita won and depending on how things go for the next few weeks, maybe he would continue being the winner.

"Keep dreaming sis!" Eita pulled from Rina's embrace. "But seriously, why?"

"To get the necklace," she said promptly.

"So, you got it then?" the twins eagerly asked. "Can we see it? Can we see it?" The twins began searching Princess Rina's pockets and bags.

"Stop it! I'll show you guys in time. But first I have to take care of other things."

Princess Rina stood as her ninja escort joined her by her side. She took her brothers' hands and led them to the crowd. The crowd, in response, began to surround her, barraging her with questions.

"Princess Rina did you get the necklace?"

"Who are these people Princess?"

"Princess, why did you take a bath?"

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make which would answer your questions but first, you'll all have to wait until tomorrow morning," said Rina.

Reluctantly, the crowd parted, creating a path and allowing the princess and her entourage to pass by, as their questions and cheering dissolved into murmurs.

"Oh, and take a bath! All of you!"

The crowd looked perplexed. Some had already opened their mouths to protest before they were interrupted.

"That's an order!"

"Are they really going to listening to you Rina?" whispered Naruto.

_Rina?_ thought Sakura. _Since when were those two on first name basis?_

"Yes. Yes they will. They trust me like that."

The separating of the crowed allowed the Konoha ninja to get their first look at the city of Jari. It was absolutely beautiful; everything Princess Rina had described to them and so much more than what they expected. The buildings were all made of crystal, most of them being emerald green or pearly pink and the streets were all bricked with translucent multicoloured crystals. The sky was clear which allowed them to see that infamous everlasting rainbow which Jari was known for. The sea, which team seven was starting to notice, was multicoloured, just like the rainbow. Everything was… _sparkly_; maybe something like a dream come true for a five-year-old girl. However, the marvel of the city was not enough to prevent the Team Seven from noticing the stench, mostly deriving from the people of Jari. Princess Rina had warned them about that but still, it took the best of their ninja training to remain unresponsive. Even Kakashi, who usually wore a bland expression, had a hard time hiding his reaction. Naruto, on the other hand had no problems expressing his opinion. Sakura, knowing Naruto so well and guessing what he was about to do, _accidentally_ stepped on his foot maybe a little too hard to stop him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" blurted Naruto as he hopped on one foot.

Eita and Eiri stopped to gape at Naruto confused and worried.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Eiri.

"Not to worry guys," said Princess Rina as she stopped to watch the spectacle, "trust me, he's fine. Just never get involved in a fight between those two."

Princess Rina smiled and resumed walking. She had long noticed, ever since she had first met them in the Hokage's office, that Naruto had a tendency to make Sakura mad and in retaliation Sakura would beat him, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. She had wondered why the pink haired girl was so violent; after all, most of her outbursts seemed to be for petty reasons. Sure, Naruto wasn't the smartest guy but most of his actions didn't warrant a response like hers. She also wondered why Naruto took it. He himself was at least strong enough to stand up to Sakura and stop her abuse. She had almost gotten involved a few times before being stopped by their Jonin sensei.

Taking Kakashi's advice, she decided to leave them be but still, some part of her always wanted to jump in. Maybe, in the future, if the violent outbursts kept up, she would have to address it. Even though Sakura may truly care for Naruto at heart, her action might scare the children or, maybe after tomorrow, give her new enemies.

* * *

It was well into the evening when Team Seven along with the princess and her brothers had arrived to the castle. They would have arrived hours earlier but all along their way to the castle they had been stopped by civilians, questioning the princess and welcoming them to the city. Naruto, who had announced that his foot was hurting and that he had not fully recovered from the Sakura incident, was leaning on Kakashi. They were all exhausted. Naruto loved meeting new people but after a while he had gotten bored with the regality and just wanted to sleep.

"Welcome home Princess."

Princess Rina was greeted by her head matron, Yuki and her staff.

"Thank you. Yuki, these are my guess," said Princess Rina as she pointed to team seven. "The accommodations and everything else is in order I assume?"

"Yes Princess"

"Good. Thank you Yuki."

"Dinner is ready to be served as well Princess."

"I'm going to skip dinner," said Naruto. "I'm just exhausted."

Kakashi and Sakura stood stunned a bit before agreeing with Naruto and declining dinner for sleep as well.

"I'm with them as well Yuki. Could you get someone to show them to their rooms and then run a hot bath for me?"

"A hot bath?" Yuki asked. She was confused. Since when did the Princess like bathing?

"Yes, a hot bath. I've grown rather fond of them. After that I shall be retiring for the night."

Ever since Princess Rina lost her bet to Naruto in Konoha she had been taking them. She found it strange since she never liked them back home; changing of scenery couldn't have caused such a dramatic change in personality.

"Yes Princess."

Yuki bowed out and left to carry out her orders. She was feeling a little confused and scared. Yuki was almost sixty, old enough remember (though just a child; barely age eight) their last ruler who had fallen victim to the curse and became the most infamous tyrannical dictator of Crystal Country, The Most Feared, Takuma. Who, ironically, was anything but what his name suggested. His lust for power had caused Crystal Country to war with the villages in the neighbouring country, Wave Country. It decimated most of security forces which was hardly any to begin with. It left Crystal Country's defences wide open which enemies took advantage of. The crystal buildings of Crystal Country themselves may have been fireproof but that fact didn't stop what was inside them from burning. As a result, many people in Crystal Country were left not homeless but just despair from losing all their position on massive fires. Life before The Most Feared, Takuma was already hard enough for the people of Crystal Country. Most were already poor, barely surviving on the wages they were earning, sickly and, frightened about the curse at the same time. There was so much stress on them that it became the number cause of death in the country. It had shortened the expected lifespan in the country by decades.

Yuki had managed to out live the life expectancy at that time but she'd be damned if she survived to see another dictator. She promised herself rather kill herself instead. The overwhelming fear she was feeling now was compelling her to fulfil that promise. Her faith in her princess was the only thing keeping that feeling at bay right now. She had practically raised the child and knew Princess Rina had a good heart. Yuki didn't understand the actions of the princess but she decided to put trust her.

* * *

"Are you sure you're up for this Naruto?" Sakura asked. She was concerned for her team mate. Sure, she may treat him badly sometimes but she genuinely cared about him.

Naruto, the team mate in question, was now pacing back and forth in the parlour waiting for his cue. The princess was out on the balcony addressing the people of Crystal Country right now. He was currently donned in purple ceremonial robe which the royals belonging to the Koishi family wore when addressing the public. It came with a suit, jewels encrusted and all. Princess Rina had wanted him to wear it all but he fought with her until they reached a compromise. They agreed that he would only have to wear the robe. Naruto wasn't pleased but it was still better than having to wear the entire outfit. He promised himself he would get Rina back for neglecting this minor detail when she was explaining his expectations to him the other night on the boat.

Today was the day Rina would be presenting Naruto as the lost heir of Koishi and wanted him to look the part. Naruto admitted that he didn't know much about royal protocol, except what Rina taught him on their journey back, and would have usually complied but he absolutely refused to wear that get up. Not only was it old fashion looking but embarrassing as well. He himself would have probably been laughing at someone if he ever some them wearing the outfit.

Naruto could hear the princess delivering her speech to her people outside. He was nervous. She had just told them that she had recovered the lost necklace but it belonged to someone else. She told them that she believed that she has found the lost heir to the throne of Crystal Country.

"That's just a myth!" he heard someone shout.

"You've jeopardized all our lives on a myth?" another person shouted.

The crowd erupted in anger and confusion, shouting a variety of things, some were vulgar.

"Be quiet!" the princess shouted. The crowd fell silent. "Good. I assure you that I have not jeopardized any of your lives here. I have ruled this country for years and I have never failed any of you so why not trust me now? Trust me, I have found you the real deal."

"I would like to see for myself" shout a few in the crowd.

"Fine! See for yourself."

"Naruto, are you ready?" ask Eiri who noticed his pacing. "It's okay if you're nervous."

"Me? Nervous?" Naruto straighten up and laughed before giving his signature grin. "I'm totally okay."

"Good! Because it's time for you to go on." Eita pushed him onto the balcony.

"And now I present to you Naruto Uzumaki the True Heir to the throne of Crystal Country."

Naruto who was taken by surprised by the twin, had his back turned to the crowd before hearing his name. He turned and looked down into the crowd. The population of Crystal Country was definitely bigger than that of Konoha. He flashed a goofy, uncomfortable smile.

"Uh…hi?" He waved with one hand while the other was behind his head.

"Idiot! Stand straight and take that ridiculous grin off your face! Act more regal!" whispered Sakura from behind the curtain.

Kakashi face-palmed and sighed.

"He looks ordinary if you ask me."

Rina mentally sighed. It was the civilian from before that first spoke up to question her. The crowd was now agreeing with his statement.

"Trust me. He's anything but."

"And as far as I can tell, he doesn't have the necklace."

"I do!" said Naruto who was now out of his daze. He pulled out the necklace from around his neck and showed it to the crowd. "See?"

"That doesn't prove anything!"

Princess Rina wanted to go down there and slap that civilian. She understood his scepticism but it was getting annoying.

"You're right, it doesn't necessarily prove anything," Princess Rina spoke up, "but I did see it glow while in his possession with my own eyes."

The people murmured. They all knew about the myth of the crystal necklace.

"It's not glowing now."

"I really don't know why it's not glowing now but trust me, it did so when I first fought him."

"The princess fought?" Rina heard a woman whisper. "This must be serious."

The people around the woman who heard her agreed with her and began to emulate it to their neighbours.

"If he's the lost heir why doesn't he make a crystal to prove it?"

"Yeah!" someone agreed.

This crowd was easily swayed.

"He can't make crystals but I have found another way to prove it." said the princess. She signalled her brothers to bring out an emerald box. "Behold! The toy chest of Prince Ishito!"

Naruto stepped forward and placed the crystal of his necklace in the keyhole. It was also rumoured in Crystal Country that the crystal necklace was a master key that could open anything in the castle once wielded by a Koishi. The citizens watched in bewilderment as the toy chest opened. Many erupted in cheers, some began to cry knowing what the opening of the chest meant.

"Why are you people cheering? This could be a fake. A stunt our princess has showed us. Have you people not noticed she has changed? She could be under the curse and we're celebrating out soon demise?"

The crowd stopped cheering and started murmuring again. Some of the crowd even started booing the princess.

"What is your name?" the princess asked the sceptic, she had had enough of him.

"It's Tatsuya Tomoya, Princess," he boldly replied.

"Well Mr. Tomoya, why don't you come up here and analyse the chest yourself."

Tatsuya took time to consider whether or not he should before agreeing. The royal guards escorted him up to the balcony. Quite a few other things were known about the Koishi family besides the crystal being the master key. It was also known that the Koishi engraved their symbols to everything they own, as well as a few other markers that could not (at least not to this day) be copied.

When Tatsuya got to the balcony, Princess Rina eyed the man before letting him through. He was dressed a little more eloquently than they typical civilian, and he looked a bit more kept. This told the princess that Tatsuya was an educated man, possibly well travelled and wealthy as well, hence his consistent questioning.

The crowd waited in silence as the Tatsuya inspected the chest, sliding his hand over any possible surface on the chest, taking in all the engravings. After a few minutes he stood up and looked into the crowd before facing Naruto and falling to his knees.

"Welcome home Your Majesty."

The crowd followed suit and bowed. Naruto stood with a slight smile on his face, a little nervous but happy. Being recognized wasn't so much as well a dream for him as it used to be but he still thought about it once in a while, albeit, he always imagined this moment a little differently but still, his dream was coming true.

"I promise to help you guys anyway I can" he shouted to the crowd.

"Us too" said his team mates, Princess Rina and her brothers.

The crowd started chanting 'Long live the True Heir!' If Naruto wasn't feeling a little embarrassed before, he was definitely feeling so now. His blushing, his face was now almost the same colour as a tomato. It didn't matter though, his nervousness disappeared. He was now brimming with the need to do his best and help the people of Crystal Country however he could. He was starting to feel connected to them.

"This," the princess interrupted the crowd's cheering, "however, is not a reason to let your guards down."

Once again, the people stopped cheering. Such a capricious crowd they were.

"We've been on guard for several decades, ever since the curse was discovered. I believe that Naruto's our best solution and maybe he really is but near the end, we can't afford to get reckless." The princess clenched her fist. "Be vigilant! And if you feel you cannot resist temptation. If you feel you can't control your vanity, go back to before. Don't give this unknown deity a reason to smite you! Today we celebrate but this is not the end! Remember, we are still fighting!" The princess paused for a moment, ensuring that everyone got the message she was stressing. "That is all."

With that the princess and everyone else on the balcony turned and left, leaving the crowd to resume their cheering.

* * *

Team Seven spent most of their evening with the people of Crystal Country. At first it was great but by time the festivities were over, Team Seven had been forced to utilize their ninja skills to hide, especially Naruto who was probably now permanently scarred for life. He had never gotten a moment of peace, not even in the bathroom. Everywhere he went he found someone who would either interrogate him about almost anything; from his origins to his intentions on ruling the country. Or, some random girl who attached herself to him, groping him or bantering on about marriages and relationships, or some other crazy thing. Now Naruto could understand how Sasuke felt back in the academy when he was relentlessly being pursued by his fan girls.. He had never felt so violated in his life. Fortunately for him however, Sakura had sometimes intervened, else, thought Naruto, he would have probably been married or raped before the night was over. Unfortunately for Naruto, Sakura wasn't always by his side, and even then she didn't always pay him mind. She was being odd. At one point, she would be there to save him with her usual inhuman strength and at another point she would not or she would simply just watch him being taken over.

Naruto didn't understand Sakura's oddness which apparently wasn't only in his presence. He had caught her talking to a boy on one of those occasions she was not around him. She was laughing with the boy and twirling her fingers in her hair. Naruto, who was completely clueless when it came to matters of a girl's heart, dismissed it. Sakura was one of the strongest people he knew. If anything, he knew she could help herself. He figured she was just trying to make new friends or collect information with her kunoichi methods.

Naruto gave up on trying to find Kakashi, even in Konoha he had a tendency to show up and disappear whenever he felt like it. The last time Naruto saw Kakashi he had found a book store which sold Jiraiya's Make Out Series but when he backtracked to the store, Kakashi wasn't there.

Later on, all of Team Seven had met up to find that they all were being chased; Naruto by his crazy fan girls, Sakura by maybe her newest potential stalker and Kakashi by some women who found him gross and thought him a pervert for reading Jiraiya's books. Maybe Kakashi too was permanently scarred as well. Some of the women who saw him reading the book from the Make Out Series were apparently turned on and now wanted him. Those women chased after him, shouting vulgarities that children should never hear. Vulgarities which turned on some of Naruto's fan girls and Sakura's potential stalker.

An exhausted Team Seven arrived at the castle to be greeted by a smirking Princess Rina.

"Your people are crazy," mumbled Naruto. Kakashi and Sakura moaned in agreement before they all headed off to bed.


End file.
